The High Court has ordered Kibuli Muslim Hospital to pay Shs147 million in damages to Kyofuna Jaridah after finding the facility negligent in the management of her newborn baby’s care.
According to court records, Kyofuna attended antenatal care at Kibuli Muslim Hospital from August 2018 until she delivered under the supervision of Dr Aturwanaho Dickens and the hospital’s obstetric team. Her pregnancy progressed without complications, and doctors scheduled an elective caesarean section.
On October 5, 2018, she successfully delivered a baby boy, Jibreal Jumah Sewankambo, through a caesarean section. Both mother and child were reported to be in stable condition after the operation, and the baby began breastfeeding normally.
However, the following night, the baby developed breathing difficulties. Kyofuna told court that despite repeated efforts to seek urgent medical attention, no doctor attended to the child until the morning of October 7, 2018.
When the baby was eventually examined and admitted to the neonatal nursery, doctors diagnosed him with anaemia and thrombocytopenia and made a provisional diagnosis of haemorrhagic disease of the newborn.
Court heard that the hospital was unable to obtain compatible donor blood from its blood bank or nearby health facilities. On the advice of consultant neonatologist Dr Margaret Nakakeeto Kijjambu, the medical team carried out an emergency direct blood transfusion using the mother’s blood.
Despite the emergency intervention, the baby’s condition continued to deteriorate, and he died on October 9, 2018.
Kyofuna sued the hospital, arguing that it negligently managed her baby’s treatment. She claimed the emergency transfusion was conducted contrary to Ministry of Health clinical guidelines and without informed consent, compatibility testing, or the appropriate equipment. She also alleged that the rapid administration of blood contributed to her son’s death.
She further accused the hospital of delaying medical review and failing to adequately investigate the baby’s worsening condition.
In its defence, Kibuli Muslim Hospital denied any negligence, maintaining that the baby was already critically ill before the transfusion. The hospital argued that the emergency procedure was a necessary life-saving measure after attempts to obtain compatible blood had failed. It also contended that, without a post-mortem examination, the plaintiff had failed to prove that any specific act or omission directly caused the baby’s death.
However, Justice Bonny Isaac Teko ruled that the hospital breached its duty of care by delaying medical attention, failing to ensure timely specialist review, and falling short in the management of the emergency blood transfusion.
“The breaches materially contributed to the death of the child, although it has not been proved that the blood transfusion, of itself, was the immediate cause of death,” Justice Teko ruled, adding that the hospital was vicariously liable for the actions of its medical staff.
